Signs and Stages of Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in dogs. There is currently no cure for DM and no proven way to halt the progression. This disease is progresses slowly in the early stages but advances more quickly in the later stages.
Early Stage
Nails-Uneven wearing of the nails on the hind paws.
The nails start scraping the ground.
Clumsiness- Staggering every now and again.
Weakness-Starting to have trouble walking up steps or getting in car.
Middle Stage
Nails- Scraping becomes more prevalent and frequent.
Muscle Mass Loss/Weakness- Dog will start to lose muscle mass in its hind quarter. Your dog may struggle to maintain balance but can get up on their own. Response time may be delayed. If you turn your dog's rear paws underneath, they should be able to right them on their own.
Knuckling- Paws dragging and turned under when standing or walking.
Incontinence- Dog may experience urinary or bowel incontinence.
Middle to Late Stage
Stumbling- due to improper paw placement.
Problems standing- unable to stand for any length of time.
Back End- The Croup (rump) will start to droop. Tail wagging becomes less and less
Walking- Dog can no longer stand or walk on its own without your assistance.
Crabbing- Dog will seem to walk sideways sometimes. Rear legs begin to cross when walking.
Spams- You may notice your dog's legs begin to jerk when lying or sleeping, as if they are running.
Incontinence- More frequent urinary and bowl incontinence.
Late Stage
Cannot stand- Your dog can no longer bear wait on its back legs. Once lifted it cannot stand and will collapse to the ground.
Cross extensor response- Touching one paw and the other reacts.
Incontinence= Your dog can no longer control its bladder and has frequent bowel accidents.
Belly bands and pads are a help during this phase. Also, expressing the bowels will help prevent accidents. The easiest and simplest way is to a place puppy pad under the dog's rear. Then using an ice cube placed in a plastic Ziploc bag, lift the tail and rub the ice cube at the edge of the anus, for a few seconds. This will cause the dog to react and eject. You may want to use disposable rubber gloves for this.
Extreme weakness- begins to show in the loss of use in the front legs, eventually leading to complete paralysis.